What percentage of the buying process is done independently, these days? It seems like the number keeps going up: 57 percent? 70 percent? 90 percent?
Thankfully, video is here to answer your potential customers’ questions before they’re ready to admit they even have questions.
That’s why mapping your video marketing strategy to your buyers’ journey—or sales funnel—is a key step in figuring out exactly what kind of videos will have the most effect on your bottom line.
To help get you started, here’s our star-studded line up of the 6 most effective kinds of marketing video, and when to use them.
1) The How-to Video
What is it?
These days, people often type their problems into Google or YouTube when they need a solution. How-to videos offer a compelling value proposition: if your brand makes first contact with a potential customer right when they have a pressing issue, that’s an opportunity for you to start building a relationship with them based on value.
In short, a how-to video doesn’t necessarily pitch or sell, but it provides information on solving a discrete problem that matters to your audience of potential customers.
And, if it’s done right, it goes one step further and inspires more exploration.
When to use it
How-tos are top-of-funnel videos. Your audience might be people who’ve never heard of you before, but they have a problem that you know how to solve. A how-to video educates them right when they’re asking for education.
Best Practices
- Don’t sell, give: By giving your audience something they value, they’re more inclined to trust you and turn to you again down the line. This is especially important for B2B brands, who are sometimes guilty of overwhelming leads right off the bat with sales pitches and qualifying questionnaires.
- Example CTA: Rather than relying on some algorithm to decide your viewer’s next move, use interactive components to point your viewer further down the sales funnel. But don’t program big asks quite yet. CTAs are soft, here. E.g., “Follow our channel for more practical tips,” or “Watch this related video.”
Best in Class example
How-to videos are practical by nature, but they should still appeal to emotion. Here’s a beautiful example of a how-to video that focuses more on inspiration than information:
(Source: Spiel Creative)
2) The Brand Documentary
What is it?
Often longer and more immersive, a brand documentary explores a compelling story or question on a topic that’s aligned with your brand. Think of it as a chance to tell your own story and to showcase your brand’s culture and worldview.
Keep in mind that while a brand documentary can be about your brand, it doesn’t have to be. Depending on how much name recognition you already have, you might be in a position to support an outside cause—which has the side benefit of showcasing your values.
When to use it
This is a top-of-funnel video that builds awareness. Your ideal audience is potential customers who will be impressed and moved by the story, as well as existing customers who will feel even more aligned with your brand after watching it.
Best Practices
- Play up your positioning: Your brand has a voice: whether authoritative and family-friendly, or edgy and glamorous. Make sure that everything—from the narrative to the music to the colour palette—reinforces those values.
- Make it personal: Every story needs a hero. True stories are naturally compelling, but they need characters just as much as a novel or film. Pick one person and follow them through the story to achieve maximum emotional impact.
- Example CTA: Again, at the top of the funnel, your suggested next steps will be informative and helpful. E.g., “Learn more here,” with a link to your website.
Best in Class example
Canadian airline Westjet produced this four-and-a-half minute video showing how they brought a family battling their son’s leukemia together for Father’s Day. (Warning: it’s a major tear-jerker.)
3) The Explainer Video
What is it?
Often confused with the how-to video (which details practical steps to fix a problem), the explainer video takes on the task of making a complex idea clear and accessible.
When to use it
We’ve now reached the middle of the sales funnel, where potential customers have defined their problem, and are weighing their options. The explainer video is useful when you want to differentiate your product by placing it in a broader context.
Best Practices
- Animate it: When your script get broad and philosophical, animation means you can increase scope to a dozen settings and a thousand extras at no additional cost. It’s also a lot cheaper than live actors.
- Keep it 1 to 2 minutes long: According to research, people lose interest around two minutes. The goal here is to be simple, and simple means short.
- Example CTA: Using voiceover or text overlay plus a hotspot, explainer videos can include CTAs that extend an ask further: “Turn to us first,” or, “Follow our instructions.”
Best in Class example
NewYork-Presbyterian worked with Seiden Advertising and Israeli artist Noma Bar to create this “Unmasking a Killer” video. It takes one of the toughest topics out there—cancer—and breaks down the hospital’s approach to immunotherapy.
4) The 1:1 Video
What is it?
Also known as a video voicemail, one-to-one video is one of our top video marketing trends for 2019. They’re ultra-personalized one-off videos that can be used to introduce your team, pitch or demo your product, and follow up on inquiries with useful information.
When to use it
This type of video is taking off with B2B marketing and sales teams, who use it in the middle of their sales funnel to nurture leads. They’re the perfect vehicle for relationship-building.
Best Practices:
- Improvise: When it comes to production, you need nothing more than a smartphone and some sunlight. Prepare talking points and note specific personal or company details for your recipient. But don’t write and memorize a full script: it would probably seem forced.
- Email it, text it, DM it: With the right CRM, it doesn’t matter how your lead receives the video, you’ll know when they watched it, for how long, and what actions they took after. (We’re biased, but we like our interactive taggs, which allow leads to click relevant links and even call you back directly.)
- Example CTA: Direct, reasonable asks are key here. When done right, “Get in touch,” or, “Book an appointment,” is exactly what your audience wants to hear.
Best in Class example:
5) The Demo Video
What is it?
The product demonstration video has come a long way from late-night infomercials. While a screencast or live-action tutorial that shows step-by-step use is definitely valuable to educate after the sale has been made, we’re still in marketing mode here.
Your demo video needs to evoke emotion in its viewers by showing the experience of using your product. Is it satisfying? Is it simple, or fun, or relaxing?
When to use it
This video lives at the bottom of the sales funnel, when your prospective customer is in brass tacks mode and wants to know what it is like to use your product. Perhaps they’re justifying their gut instinct to buy from you instead of your competitor. Or maybe they’re just trying to figure out what colours it comes in.
Best Practices
- Focus on the experience: While technical specs and minute upgrades are all your team has been talking about for the last production cycle, your audience cares about how the product will make them feel while using it. The demo video exists to help them imagine the product into their life.
- Example CTA: At this point, that may well be a link to your pricing page. or a purchase button. You can make it very easy for them by adding a clickable tagg.
Best in Class example
I t’s safe to say that we’re all living at the bottom of the Google sales funnel, which is exactly why this demo video is so surprisingly effective. Describing the full breadth of the Google product galaxy from the user’s perspective allows us to be awestruck by the reality of what Google has become.
6) The Testimonial Video
What is it?
At a certain point, your customers become your best advocates. A customer testimonial video is a chance for your biggest fans to express their appreciation and passion for what you do.
When to use it
This type of video comes at the very bottom of the funnel, when potential interest is at its peak.
Best Practices
- Get specific: As you work with your customer on a script, make sure to use solid numbers and details. While positive adjectives are very nice, evidence is what converts, here.
- Make it great: The finished video should be something both you and your customer are proud of. And if they like it so much that they share it on their channels, that’s a great boost in exposure for you.
- Example CTA: Again, your audience should be fully convinced by now, so a clickable tagg to “make an appointment,” or “subscribe now,” is ideal
Best in Class example
This Hootsuite video doesn’t focus on the company’s software, but rather how they collaborated with their client, Wiley, to achieve results.
Of course, the key step for all of these videos is having the right call to action at the end. Click here to see how easy it is to add clickable taggs to all of your marketing videos.
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